New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-02-20

sisted that jute was healthy, and long lie ioi
whoever handled 1t q forcgone CONCLUSION "a
tour among the workers seemed to confirm tIi'
inn resson, though here and there ono founo .hc
factory face with its dead paleness and dark, :,
ringed eyes. Children small as can DC heiu
to be consistent with the assulnp'ion
OF their thirteen years are rr0' enoo,'
| their work as doners vi
changers recurring small quick hands. So TOO
in fixing the pattern for carpets, where the
threads must be manipulated with speed ana
LIGHT touch If is preferred that children should
grow UP in the mill passing from one room 10
| another rs they master processes, ana the CHI
| gloves thus stay and regard themseiNe' u"
| portions of the business. Some three or Tour
thousand women and girls find occupation mere
| The waste from the caIding rooms Is sent 10 the
paper mills and enters into manila paper ana
pastcboard, and this brings one to the paper-poN
makers OF whom there are several thousand at
work.
This trade. while nominally one OF The stcau-
est. has its short periods OF depression. ,omle-
tition Is also as severe here as in every Other
present form of industry, and thus prices are
kent down. the highest rate OF wages earned being
80, while 81 is considered fair. There must be u
certain apprcnticeshlp, not less than six mcnihs
being required to master details and understand
each STAGE of the work In one OF the pcsI vi
these establishments, where space was plenty anu
ventilation and other conditions all goou' one W.
man had been in the firms employ TOT cisnoceh
wears and was practically forewoman lhoush Nv
such office is recognized. Beginners were piaceu
in her hands and did not leave her tlli Il perioOo
box could be turned off. Cutting Is All uonc ny
spccial machines, and the paper lot GOVERNS !"
prepared in the same way glue UT p'90
used according to the degree of strength desired
&c al X,
to 70 cents n hundred being paid, fair worker
making two hundred q day and an expert nearly
or quite three hundred But competition governs
tho nrice and cuts are often made. firm VIII
undcrbid and an order be transferred TO IT, I'M
less the Girls will consent to do the work hVc or
il NAV be ten cents less on the hundrcd' anu
thus wages can seldom pass beyond ~ "e'N'
dull seasons and cuts reducing the aNcr"so "
81 So Many even good workers fail Tar ocio"
this as they prefer TO come late ana 20 '"inS'
p,cce-worlx admitting Of this Arrangement Inc
woman who takes up this trade may be coniiueho
OF earning from s25 to S35 monlh. put shc
never exceeds this amount nor Is there proin'-
ton beyond a certain point In paper h"hsihse
wages do not rise above SIS at most ana IN
MINER collars and cuffs as in everything connected
with clothing the rate is much less. h'Ss "'o
the foundation industry in all these forms OF
who worl, at sorting these seldom pass boSohd
s5 and more often receive but So 80 or 50 per
week A.
Under much the same head must come the
preparation of sample ca,0s, playing cards anu
various forms of stationcrs' work. The latter
has short duh seasons when girls may, Tor TWO
or three weeks, have no work :; but u Is o.hci-
wise steady trade. Tie wages runihDg H"in
s3 so to 81 per week. They stamp in'iaS ana
crcsts with large hand presses. ana stamp hiSo
the cheaper order OF Autographs; they run en-
velope machines, color mourning paper Apply
mucilagc to envelopes and pack small boxes OF
naper and envelopes. In all Of the laSt-mcrlohed
trades hours are from a. m TO ~ p H.
with half an hour for lunch and girl OF hiteeh
con earn the same wages the woman OF hlty
light, quick touch and care being inc only g
sentals.
The trades mentioned here and IN preceding
papers form but portion Of the ninety and more
omen to women Thirty-eight Of these are d.
rectly connected with clothing and include every
nhase OF ornament or use I'm braid. gimp. button
clasp, lining or other article employed In us
manufacture In every one OF these competition
kceTs wages at the lowest possible h-7ire. ou,
side of the army here employed come the washefS
and ironers who laundry shirts ana underwear
whose work is Of the most cxhausting order VINO
"Iean hard on the iron and in time become the
victims OF diseases resulting from ten hours
dav OF this Cleaning hard and who complain
bitterly that prisons and rcformatorles under
hid them and keep wages down. II IS quite true
Convict labor here as elsewhere is the foe OF the
honest worker, and complicates n problem hl-
ready sufficiently complicated. These roneis can
make from $40 to Sl2 per week. but soon iail
in health and turn TO lighter work, many OF
them taking up cigarIna<ing, which soon hhishcs
the work Of Decentralization.
Frinyes. gimps, plush and bonnet ornaments
are overcrowdcd with workers. Tor here, rs III
flowers and feathers. fashion determines the sea
sons work and the fringe-maIer has for year
or so had small call for her knowledge save III
some forms of upholstery. One and all arc so
hedgcd in by competition TINT 10 pass beyond
certain limit is impossible and all wages are
kept at the lowest point. not only by bhls lact'
but by the fact that many women who had
learned the trade continue IL after marriage rs
means of adding O trfe to the family income
An expert in any one OF them Is toierably certain
Of steady employment. but WAGES have reached
the lowest point and 1t does not appear that any
rise is probable. Sharp competition rules and
will rule till the working class themselves rccog
nize the necessity of education that will make
them something moro than adjuncts to machinery.
and of an organization in which cooperation will
take the place Of competition. That both must
come is as tain as that evolution Is upward
and not downward but IL is still distant day.
and neither employer nor employed have yet
learned tho possibilities of either.
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GOOD DESCRIPTION.
A LADY who has hoDOTed the Editor by chatting with
\ a tt.pf Al